


Haunt Me In My Dreams

by KH310-S (Author_of_Kheios)



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Connor is ace, Dabin Weed, Fowler has a daughter, Gavin has cats, Gavin is a moron, Gavin is pan, Gen, Ghosts, Hauntings, Mild horror/thriller vibes, Nines and Connor are brothers, Nines is Niles, Nines kidnaps Gavin, Sixty possesses Connor, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, YouTubers - Freeform, cole is alive, connor is adopted, darksonas - Freeform, spoilers in the tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 19:17:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19257517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_of_Kheios/pseuds/KH310-S
Summary: Gavin is a crude but well-loved YouTuber known especially for his Let's Plays. One day Connor, a fellow YouTuber who vlogs about dogs all over the world, contacts him for help with a project. It does not go as expected...





	Haunt Me In My Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THE TAGS!!
> 
> Anywho, this is inspired by [Shadow Over Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtAeD622hd8), by DELIRI0US. I toyed with it in Zlakto's suspended fics on the [New Era](https://discord.gg/KHfCKDh) server I'm a part of, and then decided to feature it here, where Kal can't interrupt the spoop with memes (Bad Kal!). So enjoy this quasi-horror-film-style drabble and maybe pop over to the server for more fun in the DBH fandom! Don't forget to give kudos and comments if you like, and sub to me for more fics, especially DBH~

Indie rock music blares over Gavin's speakers as he puts the finishing touches on his last video for the day and sits back to watch through it one last time, just to make absolutely sure he didn't miss anything. His subscribers expect a certain level of expertise from his videos, and hell if he's ever going to let them down.

 

His phone pings just as he's getting to the outro and he quickly sets the video to uploading before grabbing it.

 

**Connor**

_hey u busy? got a q_

 

Well. Been a while since he last heard from Connor Anderson, aka TheD0gK1ng on YouTube. The last time was for a charity thing Connor was doing to raise money for his local shelter, which was struggling to keep above water and needed funds or else they'd have to start putting down animals. Gavin helped, of course; he's not a complete douche. But since then, they've only talked maybe once, when Connor thanked him and asked about Lucifer, the black and grey Siamese he adopted as a result of the whole thing.

 

Speak of the devil, literally... Lucifer pads into the room and mewls loudly, reminding Gavin that it's well past lunchtime, and the cats need to be fed as much as Gavin. Thank God for furry alarm clocks or he'd never eat.

 

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he sighs, taking his phone and following Lucifer down the hall and through the living/dining room to the kitchen. After filling the cat dishes and making himself a sandwich and some crackers, he responds to the text.

 

**Me**

_wutup?_

 

Almost immediately, he gets a reply.

 

**Connor**

_got an idea for Halloween this year_

_thinkn of a darksona_

_could use ur help makn it_

 

**Me**

_darksona?_

 

**Connor**

_yea is a dark v of yourself_

_link _

 

The link takes Gavin to a video done by NorthErnStarS, a very popular female vlogger whose niche is mostly fighting videos and tutorials. The video glitches inexplicably about halfway through, and in the description she apologises for it, saying her computer crashed halfway through rendering and it destroyed part of the file. The comments are filled with all the usual crap, along with several people claiming that her computer is haunted, or that she's being haunted, or asking if maybe some ghost or something is trying to communicate.

 

One comment in particular stands out, and Gavin guesses this is where Connor got his idea; the commenter says "whoops my finger slipped" with a link to a drawing of North in the midst of a martial arts move or something, but then the image blinks (oh, it's a gif, not just a pic), and suddenly everything's dark and horror-ish, and North looks maniacally evil.

 

**Me**

_so... wut r u doing?_

 

**Connor**

_wanna put lil hints n clues in my vids thru the month_

_on Halloween ill have my darksona take over and 'kill' Sumo_

 

If Sumo's involved, Connor must really be into it; that dog is his life, quite literally; as Gavin understands it, Connor's dad got the Saint Bernard as a puppy, right after his mom died almost a decade ago, and he's been a staple of the family ever since.

 

**Me**

_ok?_

 

**Connor**

_thing is im no good w editing like u r_

_i could use ur help making it believable_

 

**Me**

_whats in it for me?_

 

**Connor**

_u o me for luci_

 

**Me**

_..._

_lo blo dude_

_fine_

_Starbucks on main_

_lets talk deets_

 

**Connor**

_free @ 5_

_that ok?_

 

**Me**

_cu @ 5_

 

For the rest of the afternoon, Gavin lets the cats out, cleans up his apartment a bit, and then plays an hour or two of knockoff games for his next "Cheap Shit Let's Plays" video. At a quarter to five, he shuts everything down and goes to meet with Connor, whose idea is fairly simple in terms of mechanics, just majorly time consuming in terms of actual work. They discuss the recording process, and how much to work into every video to hint at something without giving it all away, and what exactly to do in regards to the personality and appearance of the darksona...

 

Connor calls it Sixty.

 

"Why?" Gavin asks at one point. "I mean, why Sixty, specifically?"

 

"Dunno, really," Connor hums, shrugging. "I just sort of... knew that was what he should be called, you know? I mean, honestly, how did you come up with DabinWeed for a user?"

 

"Fair enough."

 

-

They settle a lot of the major points over the course of about two hours, and then make arrangements for Gavin to visit and help with the filming of the glitchy bits; he'll edit the first video there at Connor's place to make sure it’s the kind of thing Connor wants, and then the rest will be in the comfort of his own apartment, between his own videos.

 

By the time Gavin returns, he's exhausted, and barely has enough energy despite the coffee to do much more than feed the cats and take a shower before bed.

 

Lucifer's loud as fuck purring eases him to sleep, and of course, he dreams of Sixty. Until Sixty morphs into something darker, and meaner, and that thing haunts his dreams until he wakes up just as tired and worn as the night before.

 

Fuck.

 

~~~~

 

A week into October, Gavin gets a text from Connor.

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_dude check out the responses to Monday's video!_

 

Gavin chuckles at the fact that Connor wrote everything out so properly compared to his normal text talk. He must be extremely excited. Or else impossibly upset...

 

The first video was pretty simple, and most people didn't even really notice the glitch in the intro; the few who did were also fans of NorthErnStarS and teasingly asked if his computer crashed too. The second video was a little more obvious, and Gavin pushed to the limits of his talents to make Connor look creepy for a quarter second clip at the end of the outro. That's the one Connor must be talking about, because Gavin just finished the third last night and sent it back.

 

He goes on YouTube and navigates to Connor’s last video, titled _Spoopy Puppers Dressup!_ The comments are mostly people oohing and awwing over Sumo in potential Halloween costumes, and Connor hand-making similar costumes for the dogs of the local shelter. One of the top comments, however, is from a familiar name: CreacherTips. Josh Creacher is a rising Tuber whose insane playthroughs make even Gavin jealous sometimes, and Gavin has seen him lurking around NorthErnStarS' channel, as well as the only non-gaming channel he pays any attention to besides Connor's: ManfredDraws.

 

 **CreacherTips** (Oct. 3, 2019 4:45 pm) - WHO IS THAT?? 15:56 Do you have a darksona now like North Star?? Does everybody have a darksona?? I need more information!!

 

**Me**

_the jig is up_

_we have been discovered!_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_middle_finger_

_thx for the vid lst night_

_posting 2day_

 

**Me**

_good luck_

_let me no if Creacher figures anything else out_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_will do_

 

-

Two weeks later, Gavin has exceeded his own expectations for this weird little project, and he can't help but be proud of Sixty; after all, he had as much a hand in its creation as Connor. The responses are almost overwhelming; everyone has theories about Connor's darksona, and everyone has questions. Some people are calling it DogDeath, but more as a joke, a play on Connor's username. Others have rightfully deciphered the flickers of 6 and 0 in videos to mean the number 60, and some have even connected that as the darksona's name.

 

Connor is thriving on the attention. In spite of the haunting, he never misses an opportunity to let people know that every day, dogs and cats are being put down in shelters, and that rescue animals make the best pets. He's using every minutiae of attention Sixty has brought in, and Gavin can't help but feel happy for the guy; he really, really loves dogs, and this right here is practically his dream come true.

 

By the time Halloween comes around, Gavin is less pleased with the project than before. Recently he hasn't been getting any restful sleep, because Sixty and especially that weird meaner version have been absolutely wrecking his sleeping patterns. How many times has he woken up in the middle of the night for seemingly no reason? And the restlessness... it doesn't just extend to the fact that he wakes up as tired in the morning as when he goes to sleep, he also can't get comfortable and keeps tossing and turning through the night. Lucifer and Sir Fluff, a long haired white-base male calico who sheds everywhere and sometimes sleeps next to Luci, have both stopped sleeping on Gavin's bed ― his other cat, an enormous tan-white ragdoll named Princess, never sleeps in his room, but practically never leaves his lap the rest of the day.

 

Lucifer has also stopped coming into his office to let him know it's mealtime. He has no idea why, but Luci and Sir Fluff actually avoid his office entirely. Best guess, his longer hours and the stress he's putting himself through to get both his own videos and Connor's edited has made the cats dislike him a bit. He's certainly seen some of that stress coming out during his Let's Plays; he gets angry far more easily, and he's had to avoid the frustrating games entirely for the past week or so.

 

At last the final video has gone up, and both Connor and Gavin wait eagerly for the community's response. Within minutes of posting, comments are already flooding in. Half of them are the usual bullshit ― people calling out first comment, second comment, notification squad, etc ― but the other half are practically exploding over Sixty's first official appearance.

 

The video begins as usual, with Connor's greetings and a few housekeeping notes, and then an explanation of what he plans to do in the video. He's done that on occasion in other videos, so it doesn't ring any alarms for most people, until about halfway through putting Sumo in his costume for the day, when Connor suddenly collapses. Gavin edited it to keep that image through the rest of the video, so it looks like Connor is still on the floor even when Sixty appears, standing over him with a knife in hand and a wicked grin, fake blood dripping from the knife and splattered across his face and chest. More fake blood is pooled on the floor around Connor.

 

The actual comments are part shock, and part amazement, most of them praising whoever did the editing. Gavin preens at those. As the comments keep pouring in, he starts feeling a little better about the project.

 

"I think we can qualify this as a success," Connor grins, nudging his arm. He grins back.

 

"I think so too. Congrats."

 

~~~~

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_what was ur fave part of the last vid?_

_i havnt posted n e thing this week and im gettn more comments than evr_

 

**Me**

_def the song_

_total creep factor_

_and the laugh_

_howd you evn do that?_

_scared the crap outta me the 1st time i heard it_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_;)_

_trade secret_

_i like the song 2_

_link _

_som1 made a remix of it_

 

The original song was just Connor singing in minor key a spooky version of the soft kitty meme that went around for a while; they rewrote it to say "soft puppy, sweet puppy, precious ball of fur / hurt puppy, dead puppy, now I'll go murder," and then tacked it on in place of an outro, with flickers of Sixty standing over Sumo, whose fur was clumped with the fake blood. Then the screen went black and 'Sixty' laughed maniacally.

 

In the remix, someone took those last ten or fifteen seconds and added a creepy violin line behind it, then played with it to make an entire song. It's incredibly impressive actually, and Gavin is kinda jealous. But in the same breath, he knows he could never be that good at sound editing; his talent is video editing.

 

Actually... Speaking of...

 

**Me**

_nice!_

_dude is talented_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_right??_

_is my ringtone now_

 

**Me**

_so q for u_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_shoot_

 

**Me**

_think I could get away with doing some darksona shit next year?_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_dont see y not_

_obvi got the talent_

_all u need is a character_

 

Gavin thinks for a minute, but doesn't get much of a chance to consider before he hears a clatter from the kitchen. Sighing, he lifts Princess out of his lap and carries her with him to go see which cat is in trouble now.

 

Sir Fluff is sprawled on the sofa when Gavin passes, and opens his eyes for a moment before going right back to sleep, the lazy little fucker.

 

One accounted for, so it must be Lucifer.

 

"Luci!" he calls preemptively, stepping into the kitchen. Except she's not there.

 

Princess hisses and wiggles out of Gavin's arms, so he drops her gently and frowns as she pads back into the living room with her tail up. Lucifer comes around the corner at that moment with a curious _mmrrrrr?_ before sitting in the doorway and staring past Gavin.

 

"Okay, what did you knock over, and why are you giving me that innocent look?" he scolds. "I know you were responsible, you little shit." He absently follows her stare to the empty corner of the kitchen where he keeps the broom, mop, and vacuum. "And what are you staring at, you fucking goof? You better not be telling me I'm gonna need a mop or broom to clean up whatever mess you made."

 

A quick inspection of the kitchen turns up a mug lying on the counter beneath the hooks where he hangs them alongside some wine glasses that were a gift from his high school sweetheart Tina. First of all, how the hell did Luci knock that down?

 

Shaking his head, he hangs it back up and brushes a finger over one of the glasses. Been a while since he talked to Tina. Maybe he should try and text her? Just see how she's doing? Is her number even the same?

 

A cool breeze curls across the back of his neck, making the tiny hairs there stand on end. He shivers, and Lucifer gives a low yowl deep in her throat.

 

"What, you don't think I should text Tina?" he asks, smirking at the feline. "Eh, you're probably right anyway; no need to go poking at old baggage, hm? And since I'm here, I'll feed you little dickheads. Then I need to figure out what kind of person I want to make my darksona."

 

Gavin finishes refilling the cats' bowls, and something clatters behind him. Jolting upright, he whirls around to see the mug... back on the counter. Frowning, he crosses the kitchen and picks it up. There's no way one of the cats knocked it over this time, because Princess and Sir Fluff aren't even in sight, and Lucifer is still sitting in the doorway, staring up at Gavin.

 

"The hell...?" he mutters, checking the hook. Not broken, or turned weird. "Okay?" Hanging the mug up again, he watches it closely for a moment. "...Stay."

 

Mostly satisfied, he glances over at the cat food bowls again, then scoops up Lucifer on his way out. He flicks off the light and heads down the hall, using the light from his office as a guide, only to have the light in the kitchen flicker on behind him.

 

"Okay, this is bullshit," he growls, setting Lucifer down and going back. "First my chair is halfway across the room, then my toothbrush goes missing, then mugs start jumping off hooks, and now my lights are fucked up." He turns off the light again and waits for a moment to see if it turns back on. It doesn't. "Jesus fucking Christ... What, is my apartment haunted now? God..."

 

He makes it back to his office without incident this time, Princess purring as she weaves between his feet. Settling into his chair, he considers what to do with his darksona while Princess hops up and gets comfortable on his lap. Nothing major comes to mind right off, so he grabs his phone.

 

**Me**

_no ideas_

_u?_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_well ur already p much an ass_

 

**Me**

_thx bastard_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_:P_

_mayb som1 vicious?_

 

**Me**

_like wut, a serial killer?_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_exactly!_

 

**Me**

_i was joking_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_hey u asked 4 ideas_

 

**Me**

_yeah but ur ideas suck_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_fu 2_

 

**Me**

_ill sleep on it and c wut i come up w tomorrow_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_good night/luck!_

 

The moment Gavin opens his eyes the next morning, he knows exactly what he's going to do.

 

~~~~

 

The first thing Gavin does in his process is sketching. He's not the greatest artist, he knows, but he does all his own thumbnails, so it's not like he's terrible either.

 

The figure from his dreams... Like Connor's Sixty, similar looking even, but taller, colder, meaner. There's something about the chiseled lines of his face, the firm immobility of his body, the cutting edge of silvery-blue eyes...

 

Honestly, sometimes those eyes haunt him during waking hours; he'll glance at a mirror and see them reflecting back from his own face, only to be staring at his own storm grey gaze the very next second. It's unsettling, but at the same time, it thrills him. If he's seeing his darksona in himself, then his subscribers will absolutely see it too. After all, judging by the reactions on Connor's videos, there's nothing the fans like more than a little mystery.

 

**Me**

_hey con_

_got a sec?_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_sure sup?_

 

**Me**

_img.png_

_what do u think?_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_holy shit_

_how did u_

_thats_

_thats not 60 is it?_

 

**Me**

_nah_

_i dont have a name yet_

_hes been haunting my dreams sinc u started 60_

_figured i might as well_

 

There's a long moment before Connor replies, and Gavin almost goes back to editing his latest video.

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_Gav, are you okay?_

 

**Me**

_uh, ye?_

_^yes_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_Are you sure?_

 

**Me**

_dude im fine_

_whats up w u?_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_ok_

_just_

_its just a game, u kno?_

_dont take it so serious_

 

**Me**

_im not?_

_just an idea_

_u said it was somthng i could do_

_wut r u jealous or somthng?_

_think im ripping off 60?_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_dude chill_

_u wanna use 60 as insp, go 4 it_

_ill even stand in for ur vids_

_im just sayin_

_take it easy, k?_

 

**Me**

_yea sure_

 

-

Gavin doesn't get a lot of sleep over the next few months, obviously. Not only is not-Sixty constantly following him around in his dreams, but trying to slowly drop hints to his subscribers (with Connor's help, of course) without them figuring it all out at once is draining. The constant late hours editing, tweaking, changing, scraping, starting over, redoing...

 

The cats don't like it either. Princess rarely leaves his lap while he works, which means she's not eating as well as she should, and Sir Fluff has started peeing in the corners even when Gavin let him out ten minutes ago. Worst of them is Lucifer, who pointedly ignores him when he's in his office, and consistently trips him up whenever he tries to do anything in the rest of the apartment. She won't sleep in his bed anymore either, but on occasion, he'll wake up to find her perched on his nightstand, staring at the wall for no reason whatsoever.

 

He's taken them all to the vet, multiple times, but with the exception of Princess' slight malnutrition (which isn't even at a concerning level, according to the vet), they're all healthy and well within normal behaviour. So, he's pretty much given up trying to understand why they're being so weird.

 

Connor hasn't said anything else about taking things easy; whenever Gavin texts, asking for another filming clip, he drops whatever he's doing to go help. Sometimes he even takes Sumo, who loves the cats, even though Sir Fluff and Lucifer despise him. Princess, little cuddle butt that she is, loves him back and spends the entirety of the visit playing or sleeping with Sumo.

 

"Hey, isn't this your camera?" Connor asks one day when he comes in for a more extensive clip. Gavin stops his frantic searching for that same camera and stares at the mangled piece of equipment in Connor's hand, barely recognisable, but definitely his camera.

 

"Oh my f- where...??" Gavin snatches it, and totally misses the flicker of pleasure over Connor's features that dips instantly into confusion. The taller man shakes his head to clear away the weird thoughts and gestures back outside.

 

"I found it on your doorstep," he explains, and then gives a grimacing laugh as Gavin pulls a hand away from the camera covered in slick. "Or, I guess... Sumo found it, really."

 

"Ugh... that's just nasty," Gavin scowls, wiping his hand on Connor's jacket, prompting a real laugh as Connor ignores it and unclips Sumo from his leash to go chase Sir Fluff.

 

"Sorry."

 

"Sure, whatever," Gavin sighs, dropping the camera on his dining table. "Third camera this month... Jesus Christ; I know I make good money doing videos, but fuck, these cameras aren't cheap."

 

"Wait, third?" Connor frowns. "What happened to the second? I know we busted the first one ourselves..."

 

"Nn, it was glitching a bunch," Gavin mutters, waving him off dismissively. "Kept seeing things in the editing that weren't in the first preview or the clippings. I dunno..." He sighs heavily, leaning on the back of a dining chair and scrubbing his face. "I'm damn tired today anyway; probably wouldn't have been able to shoot this clip even if the camera wasn't busted to shit."

 

"Mm, sorry," Connor hums sympathetically, gripping his shoulder. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

 

"Can't," Gavin says, shaking his head numbly. "I have to finish tomorrow's video; just gotta fix some stuff and put in the intro/outro music."

 

"That can wait," Connor insists, taking his shoulders and firmly turning him toward the hall. "Go. Sleep. You need it. You look like hell warmed over. I'll feed your cats and make sure they go out before I leave, okay?"

 

"I can't ask you to do that," Gavin murmurs, exhaustion pulling at him.

 

"You're not asking. I'm telling."

 

The firm grip on Gavin's shoulders doesn't let him balk, even if he wanted to; at this point, sleep sounds like a good idea, so he doesn't protest, letting Connor guide him to the bedroom and nudge him in. Cool fingers brush over the back of his neck as the grip falls away, and that wakes him up a little.

 

"What the-" he jerks around, ready to snap because even if he's pan, Connor's ace and knows better than to tease him.

 

But Connor's not there. He's not even in the hall. Lucifer is, staring hard with her hackles up at Gavin, but there's no sign of Connor.

 

So what the hell was that?

 

~~~~

 

Gavin couldn't sleep last night, not after ghost fingers on his neck.

 

Well. That's not entirely true. He did drift off a couple times, and every time he did, the not-Sixty was back, first just looming over him, then touching his cheek... He jolts awake when the monster's hands circle his throat and start squeezing.

 

Shuddering, he pulls the comforter off his bed and wraps it around himself, going to the office to see if he can get any work done. But as soon as he enters, he groans and bangs his head against the door frame.

 

"Who the fuck... steals a goddamn chair... and leaves the computer??"

 

Frustrated and already done with the day before it's even begun, he goes around the apartment, looking to see if maybe it just got moved.

 

The pillow is missing off his couch. And there are no telltale scraps of fluff to signal that one of the cats tore it up.

 

The mug that kept falling from its hook is shattered on the counter.

 

His broom is missing.

 

"What even is my life?" he sighs, leaning against the kitchen door for a minute with his head back against the frame. "I swear to God, if Connor is dicking with me..."

 

Lucifer yowls at the bathroom door, interrupting his threat, but only for a second; he pushes away from the door and heads for the bathroom, deciding maybe she's got the right idea and he just needs a good hot shower.

 

"I tell you, Luci, if Connor's dicking with me, this close to Halloween and the unveiling of my darksona, my murder scene won't be faked."

 

A long, very hot shower does wonders for his mood, at least. He cleans off quickly and then soaks in the heat until the water starts cooling. Steam has collected heavy in the room, since the door and window are closed and the vent isn't on, so at first he doesn't notice it. He gets out, grabs his towel, and scrubs his hair mostly dry before quickly wiping the rest of himself down and wrapping the towel around his waist. Now to the mirror to shave.

 

He stops. Rubs his eyes, blinks repeatedly. It's still there.

 

A large, bloody handprint on his mirror.

 

Above it, half hidden by steam but once clearly written on the foggy glass, the words: YOU ARE MINE.

 

-

"Well, we got good news and bad news for you, son," the older officer drawls. Gavin is too on edge to make a fuss over being called 'son.'

 

"Good news first. No! Bad."

 

"Alrighty then... Bad news is, you might have yourself a stalker of some kind," the officer says gently, "but the good news is, the handprint belongs to someone long dead, so the more likely scenario is, this is just a real poor excuse for a prank."

 

"Who- wai- Dead?" Gavin repeats, almost dropping Sir Fluff. "You mean, like... gone, like... buried...?"

 

"That's right, sonny, dead as a doornail." The officer holds out a photo, but Gavin doesn't look at it yet. "Name was Niles Rambeaux, committed suicide when he was 21 years old; hung himself with a bedsheet about 17, 18 years ago. Pretty sad, you ask me, but he was a sad fella himself... In and out of juvie, got picked up a couple times for minor stuff when he came of age, and had himself a bit of a temper, but-"

 

And that's all Gavin heard, because at that moment, he looks at the picture, and this time he really does drop Sir Fluff, who lands on his paws and plods off with his tail up.

 

"Can I have this?" Gavin blurts, glancing at the officer.

 

"Wh- Oh, uh... sure, I guess..."

 

"Thanks. I need to go make a call."

 

-

"Who the fuck is this?"

 

 _"What...? Gavin? Who- Oh, just got the text; one sec."_ Connor goes silent for a moment, and Gavin paces impatiently, ruffling his hair uneasily as he waits for Connor's response. _"Oh wow. Who'd you get to do the photoshop? That's pretty cool."_

 

"That's not photoshop, you motherfucker; who the hell is your goddamn twin??"

 

_"Gavin, calm down; what are you talking about?"_

 

Taking a deep breath and trying his best to do just that, he explains about finding the bloody handprint and the words on his mirror, and about calling the cops and having to wait a day to find out that the handprint belongs to a dead guy. "So tell me who the fuck this is, Connor! And why the fuck are you dicking with me??"

 

 _"I'm not-"_ Connor breaks off with a sigh. _"Alright, listen. I didn't do anything, okay? But I might know something. Maybe. Meet me at Starbucks; I'll be there in about 20 minutes."_

 

"You better have a damn good explanation for this," Gavin warns, hanging up.

 

~~~~

 

Gavin's leg bounces uneasily, his fingers toying with the lid of his coffee ― black, two sugar packets, because he's goddamn tired and stressed and going out of his fucking mind and where the hell is-

 

"Gavin! Sorry it took so long," Connor pants, dropping his bag to the floor and pulling out a chair to sit across from him. "I got caught up in traffic; an accident or something, I didn't see."

 

"Don't fucking care," Gavin growls, yanking the picture out of his pocket and slamming it down on the table between them. He jabs a finger at it, shoving it toward Connor. "Start talking, now."

 

"...His name is Niles. _Was_ Niles," Connor says with a sigh, scratching his fingers through his hair. "He died a long time ago."

 

"Yeah, I know; the cops said the same damn thing," Gavin snaps, glaring at a curious passerby and lowering his voice. "I wanna know why the hell he looks like you, and how the fuck his handprint ended up on my mirror!"

 

"...You know I'm adopted," Connor says slowly, making sure Gavin keeps up with him.

 

"Yeah, of course I know," Gavin scoffs. "It's why you're all about fucking adopting shelter animals."

 

"Yes. My birth name is Connor Rambeaux."

 

"Whoa whoa; that- That's this guy's name: Rambeaux."

 

"Yes, it is. Because Niles was my older brother." Gavin stares blankly at him, stunned, and Connor goes on, taking advantage of the silence. "My birth mom was... knocked up at seventeen, by a not-so-nice boyfriend who dumped her as soon as he found out. She kept the baby, I never found out why, but she couldn't do a lot to take care of him, and he grew up, kinda... twisted. Not like, psycho or anything, just... Severely depressed, really. He had the most pessimistic outlook on life, and everyone was out to get him, and nothing could ever go right; so on. Our mom finally got married, when Niles was... eight? Nine? Something like that; he was still a kid. But his birth had messed up something, and for a long time, she thought she couldn't have anymore kids, so when I came along almost ten years later, I was her blessing. Then my birth dad died pretty suddenly of cancer, and in her grief, she turned all her attention to me. And Niles was pretty much ignored. Which, I mean, is understandable when you consider that he was 20 years old and had himself a part time job at least to help pay the rent. But it hit him really hard, and finally he just..."

 

Connor breaks off, staring at the picture, but he doesn't need to go on; Gavin can fill in the blanks.

 

 "...Who found him?" Connor doesn't answer, and Gavin groans. "Oh my God, Con... phckn... I'm sorry."

 

"Don't be," Connor says with a faint, strained smile. "I don't really... it's a repressed memory."

 

"Wow... Okay, um... Any idea how a dead guy's handprint ended up on my mirror?" Gavin asks awkwardly, trying not to make things worse on the guy but also really needing an answer.

 

"No," Connor shrugs, looking surprisingly small and flimsy, like a strong breeze could blow him away. "Someone pranking you?"

 

"Yeah, well... You're the only one I really let into my apartment, so..."

 

"So I'm the logical conclusion, obviously," Connor says dryly, rolling his eyes. He’s amazingly resilient for someone so traumatised.

 

"I mean, yeah," Gavin says pointedly. "But whatever. I don't think you have this poor a taste in pranks. So... what now?"

 

"Well... If it is just a prank ― and really, whoever thinks this is how you prank people really needs to see a shrink," Connor says blandly, reaching across the table to take Gavin's coffee and sip it. "But if it is just a prank, then either this is it and you'll see some kind of reaction video or something on YouTube eventually, or there will be others, and you can use them to figure out who the hell needs a shrink."

 

-

Gavin makes sure Connor gets home to his dad and Sumo safely, because honestly, he feels terrible now for dredging up old nightmares, and Connor really is his best friend, even if he'd never admit that aloud, to anyone, even his cats. Once Connor is inside his house, Gavin heads back to his apartment, his thoughts returning continuously to Niles.

 

This... apparition in his dreams... Could it actually be Niles? Haunting him from beyond the grave for some godforsaken reason?

 

Shit... The things going missing, and the broken stuff... Ghosts can move things around, right? Like... what's the word... Poltergeists? Could Niles be a poltergeist haunting his apartment? If he's responsible for that, then maybe...

 

Gavin shudders, dropping the keys to his apartment when he goes to unlock the door.

 

Good God... If Niles really is a poltergeist, that means the handprint really is his. And that means...

 

_YOU ARE MINE_

 

Shuddering again, Gavin shoves his keys in his pocket and stares at the door. The only thing he can think is that, for some terrifying, unknown reason, Niles intends on killing him.

 

~~~~

 

Halloween is supposed to be the time when the veil between the land of the living and the land of spirits and demons is at its thinnest. Monsters gain a corporeal body which allows them to feast on the blood and flesh of humanity, which is supposedly the reason for costumes and masks; by appearing to be monsters themselves, humans are overlooked by those spirits which would otherwise devour them.

 

Gavin never believed the ghost stories. Before now, he always firmly believed there was a scientific explanation for everything that happened, no matter what others theorised. Until this moment, standing in front of his apartment too terrified to enter what is clearly no longer his own territory, he had dismissed everything odd and unusual as a prank, or a mistake, or even just a slip of memory.

 

Now...

 

Niles was real. So very real. He had _existed_ , as a flesh and blood human, just like Gavin. He'd had worries, concerns, fears, hopes, dreams, aspirations... And he'd killed himself. Wrapped a noose around his neck and dangled until his brain finally died.

 

Gavin shudders.

 

"No such thing as ghosts, though," he whispers to himself, unconvinced. "No such thing as ghosts; no such thing as ghosts..." Over and over, he repeats it, burying his terror under a flimsy coat of thin paper painted with smiles and happiness.

 

He unlocks the door, steps inside, closes it behind him.

 

_MROOWW!!_

 

He jumps, and gasps in relief, clutching his chest.

 

"Damnit, Lucifer!!"

 

The black and grey feline meows loudly again, demanding to be fed because of course she comes first and how dare Gavin leave her _all day_ and it's _late_ and he should have fed her _forever_ ago and now she's _dying_ of hunger...

 

"Oh my god, shut up, drama queen," he scoffs, taking a breath to calm his pounding heart. "I'm feeding you right now, okay? Jesus Christ..."

 

A clatter from the kitchen. His blood pressure spikes again, and he quickly shoves his keys between his fingers, clenching his hand in a tight fist as he creeps quietly toward the sound.

 

Or, as quietly as he can with Luci meowing indignantly behind him the whole way.

 

The kitchen is dark, but fortunately the light from the entry isn't bright enough to leave him silhouetted in the doorway like a life-sized target. The light from the stovetop clock is enough to outline shapes and shadows in the room, and as far as he can see, there's no one there. He presses his back to the wall by the door, pulls out his phone, dials 911. Finger hovering over the call button, he reaches around with the other hand and uses his thumb to flick on the light.

 

Empty.

 

Still high strung but with a note of relief now, he slips into the kitchen and looks around, all three felines padding in and circling his feet with loud, persistent yowls that demand immediate attention. He ignores them for a moment, still looking for whatever made the noise.

 

There. The magnetised dry erase board he keeps on the fridge for groceries and erand notes is face-down on the floor.

 

He really relaxes now; that thing falls off at least once a week because it's cheap and the magnet strips don't hold properly. Releasing the breath he's been holding, he locks his phone and shoves it in his pocket, going to the pantry where he keeps the cat food.

 

"Yeah yeah; chill out, you goddamn attention whores. You act like I've been starving you." The increase in amplitude of the cats' vocalisations suggest that, yes, he has in fact been starving them, and he rolls his eyes, stifling a grin as he pulls out the bag of dry cat food and grabs a can of wet food to split between them as a way to make it up to them.

 

Once the noisy felines have been quieted and are purring contentedly while they chow down eagerly, he puts the cat food away and throws out the can, then goes to pick up the board. As soon as he reaches to place it back on the fridge, he drops it faster than if it had burned him.

 

It lands face up, displaying the blood red message prominently:

 

WELCOME HOME GAVIN

 

-

He took a shower yesterday, but he needs another one.

 

God, he feels... violated.

 

And standing under a hot spray of water does nothing to help the feeling. He tries a long walk in the chill night air, but that doesn't work either. Nor does a cup of hot chocolate, or one of coffee... He can't focus at all on the video he was supposed to post today that he hasn't even finished editing. The second he steps into his bedroom, he immediately turns around and leaves, because fuck trying to sleep; that's where Niles has the most power.

 

Finally, he does the only thing he knows how to do. He goes back to the office, sits down in front of the computer, and flicks on the desk lamp. He starts recording with the webcam clipped to the top of his computer, the one he uses for face-cam Let's Plays. Then he sits back and stares at it for a long moment, chewing on his thumbnail.

 

For a long moment, he says nothing, building up his courage, coming up with words and discarding them. He takes a breath, lets it out. Shifts in his chair and glances at the door, where Lucifer sits calmly, blinking at him with that blank feline stare that never makes sense. Then he takes another breath.

 

"I didn't think it would come to this," he says quietly, just loud enough for the mic to pick him up. The sound bars on his editing screen fluctuate with every syllable. "I... I invited it, like a fucking moron." He shakes his head, rubbing his hand over his face and scoffing a wry laugh. "I'm such a goddamn moron... You all were right; I was doing the same thing Connor did, with the... the darksona thing. But I think I... God this is gonna sound... like I'm making shit up, but I'm not; I'm... I never believed in... ghosts, or spirits, or magic or whatever shit people try to explain things; I always... There was always an answer. Always a reason, some... scientific fact behind it. Even if that fact was just a bunch of shitheads dicking around with people for laughs. But, uh..." He scratches the back of his neck and then lets his hand rest there, staring at the screen for a second. "...I'm being haunted. By the person I was trying to make my darksona. I know, it- I sound like an idiot. Like I'm trying to really sell this shit or get attention or whatever, but I'm not. I'm really not, I... My shit's been going missing, or getting broken; my cats are freaking the fuck out, like... ninety percent of the time; they stare at nothing, they won't come in my office, they don't sleep in my room anymore, Princess almost never leaves my lap while I'm working, Lucy keeps hissing at the corners, and Fluff has marked his territory so many times my apartment permanently smells of cat piss...."

 

He hesitates and rubs both hands over his face now, lacing them under his chin and trying to decide if he should tell them. But he can't _not_ tell them. Not now, after everything else he's said.

 

"...Yesterday morning, I couldn't sleep, so I took a shower instead. When I got out, there was... There was a handprint. On my mirror. In blood." He swallows, hard. "I, um. I thought it was a prank, so I called the cops. Obviously." He pauses, trying hard not to shiver. "The handprint belonged to a guy who died almost twenty years ago. The same guy... has been showing up in my dreams... my _nightmares_ ... for the last... year. More; he's been in my head since Connor and I started working on his darksona video for Halloween last year.  And now..." He stops, debating again. He doesn't want to out Connor, but at the same time, he can't _not_ say this. "Don't, uh... Don't bug him about this, but... Connor had a brother, a long time ago. His brother, and the guy in my head... I found out today that... they're the same person. His brother, who died two decades ago... is in my _fucking_ head, and I'm going _fucking_ crazy; guys, I swear to Christ, I can't make this shit up. I don't- I didn't even believe in this crap until today; I can't-" He breaks off, sitting forward and bracing his temples on his fingers. "I'm being haunted... by a dead man. And fucking _Halloween_ is coming up in just a couple of days." He looks at the camera, hoping, _praying_ that someone will see this and believe him. "Guys... I could die."

 

"I don't know what to do," he admits to the camera, letting his hands fall to opposite shoulders and gripping tightly. "I... I can't do anymore videos. After this one, which I will be posting as soon as I finish recording it; after this, I'm not doing anymore videos until... Until I figure something out; till I get a... an exorcism or something... Definitely not until after Halloween." He chews on his bottom lip for a moment, and then adds, on the spur of the moment, "If you guys... If any of you have any ideas, any _real_ ideas... Comment? Hell, I'll even put my email in the description; email me suggestions on how to get this fucking ghost out of my head and out of my apartment. I just... I just want a peaceful night's sleep, guys; jus- I just want to sleep... I'm so... so tired. I'm exhausted, and I'm tired of being unable to sleep. I'm tired of being too terrified to close my eyes. I'm tired of jumping out of my skin everytime I hear something go thunk... I'm just so goddamn tired..." He goes quiet for a moment longer, trying to think of someway to close out the video, but he can't; he just stares at the camera for a moment longer and then shifts to tap the space bar, pausing the recording.

 

All he does is clip a few seconds off each end of the video, and then he sets it to upload. Leaning back in his chair, he wraps his arms around himself and watches the bar slowly tick along, watches the progress. He watches it until heavy eyelids slip closed over burning eyes, and exhaustion prevents him from forcing them open again. And just like that, he's back in Niles' embrace.

 

~~~~

 

_Never thought you'd come to me so willingly_

 

_My territory_

 

_Look at you_

 

_All mine now_

 

_Do you realise how easy you've made it?_

 

"No... Stop..."

 

_Why?_

 

_You're mine_

 

"Please!"

 

_I could make it permanent_

 

Cold fingers along the back of his neck.

 

_I could make you mine permanently_

 

_So easy_

 

Hands around his neck; cool, but somehow tender. Gentle.

 

_You could join me_

 

_Just_

 

_like_

 

_that_

 

"NO!!" Gavin bolts upright in his chair, panting heavily, trembling with terror, a cold sweat trickling down his temples and the back of his neck. He swipes hastily at it with a shaking hand, chasing away ghostly fingers and choking back a gasping sob of pure fear.

 

He can't breathe. He can't think; all he hears is that bastard's laughter ringing in his head.

 

_Mrrrow?_

 

He jumps, wide-eyed gaze flicking to the feline padding into his office. Princess jumps gracefully into his lap, purring quietly and nosing at his chin. He releases a shaky breath and buries a hand in her fur, touching his nose to hers and scratching behind her ears.

 

"Hey, Princess," he whispers, trying to calm his racing heart as the thrumming pulse of adrenaline fades from his limbs, leaving him a weak, trembling mess. "Niles anywhere in the room? Pretty much going crazy at this point..." He gives her a faint, brittle smile. "You gonna protect me, pretty girl? Gonna chase away the scary ghost, huh? You and Luci; my girls. And Fluff, my little terror... God, I'm talking to my fucking cat like a person; see what you've reduced me too, fucker? Hope you're happy..."

 

Still muttering, he wakes up his sleeping monitor to check on the video. It's long since uploaded, of course, so he opens an incognito tab and looks it up to see what his subscribers see. There are already a ton of comments; he sorts them newest first and scrolls down to the bottom, making his way up one at a time. There's the usual spam shit, obviously, with a lot of encouraging comments thrown in telling him to keep his chin up, not to worry, ghosts can't do anything to mortals, etc. He comes across a couple of comments from people who claim to have experienced similar things, or just want to share their own ghost stories, and there's a number of people who clearly think he's just dicking with his subs as part of the darksona joke.

 

Josh Creacher actually asks if he's okay and needs a place to stay for a few nights, and Simon, from the SimonSays vlogging channel and a friend of Creacher's, suggests a list of websites and experts where he might be able to get help. Markus, from ManfredDraws, asks if Connor knows and is either helping or responsible, with a teasing threat to make him pay if it's the latter. North Star offers some advice too, surprising since she almost never engages in the comment section of YouTube; she helpfully suggests getting ghost-fighting training and provides a link to her website, where she offers occasional martial arts classes.

 

Connor conspicuously left no comment, and Gavin considers texting him to see if he's even watched the video or not, but decides against it. A quick check to Connor's channel shows that in spite of Gavin's request, people have indeed been pestering him about his brother, and Gavin suspects he's avoiding social media for a while.

 

Then he catches another comment that makes his blood run cold. He recognises the user, but only because they comment on almost all of his videos, not because he actually knows who they are.

 

 **lambleafpaw** (Oct. 29, 2020 12:28 am) - are we sure this isnt part of the darksona thing??

1:23 i see a 9

1:54 tell me that isnt a shadow in the corner

2:03 and right behind dabin here

2:16 kinda looks like sixty from dogkings vids last year?

 

Gavin quickly checks those times. The first one is a fraction of a second, similar to what he did for several of Connor's videos; barely a glimpse of a crooked, handwritten number 9. The second is in fact a shadow in the corner of his room where there should be no shadows; human-shaped, no less, and fucking tall as shit. The third one actually makes him glance over his shoulder anxiously; Niles standing at his shoulder like a solemn guard or something, but his face too blurred to make out if you don't know what you're looking for. The last one is the only one where you get a good look at his face, and Gavin shoves back from the desk, leaping to his feet and dropping Princess unceremoniously to the floor; she gives a miffed mewl and pads out of the room while he stares in terrified shock at the last thing on the screen before the end of the video: Niles leaning over his shoulder with a sultry sly smirk, one hand raised to Gavin's neck without touching him, yet.

 

-

**Me**

_HE HACKED MY COMPUTER_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_who_

_?_

_wut r u talking about?_

 

**Me**

_Niles!! Who Else??_

_your dead fucking brother is haunting me n he hacked my computer!_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_...okay?_

_so?_

 

**Me**

_CONNOR YOUR BROTHER WANTS ME DEAD_

_what part of this are you not getting??_

 

**Connor/Sixty**

_gav chill_

_hes dead_

_ghost or not, and im srsly leaning towrad not..._

_he cant hurt you_

 

**Me**

_WATCH MY FUCKING VIDEO_

 

Gavin waits impatiently for a reply, pacing back and forth between his chair and desk and scrubbing his hands through his hair; he tugs occasionally, just to ground himself with something other than the panic thrumming through him. After a good five minutes, he's just about to snatch his phone and send another text when it rings, Connor's ID popping up on the screen. He snatches it anyway.

 

_"Gavin?"_

 

"Connor, your brother is trying to kill me!"

 

_"...So let him."_

 

Gavin falters, stunned. He didn't just hear Connor say that, did he? No way.

 

"Excuse me?" he says, incredulous.

 

 _"I said, let him."_ The voice he hears is not the one he knows; sure it sounds like Connor, identical to a stranger, but far too cold and with an edge of mania that puts him instantly on alert.

 

"...Who the fuck are you?" he demands lowly, gripping his phone tightly. "You're not Connor." A creepy giggle answers him, sending a shiver up his spine.

 

_"Well, you catch on quick, I'll give you that much. Nice to finally meet you, Gavin. Directly, I mean."_

 

Now Gavin's blood really runs cold; he can't move, he can hardly think under the weight of the realisation.

 

"Sixty," he breathes.

 

 _"Ding ding ding!"_ Sixty cackles. _"Give the man a prize!"_

 

"Wh- How...?"

 

_"Oh please. Like it was really that hard. Connie is so deliciously sweet... It was the easiest thing to bring down his guard and make him welcome me in. Tell Niles he lost; I look forward to seeing him retaliate."_

 

"Lost? Retaliate?" Gavin echoes, a pit of ice sinking in his gut. He swallows hard as the hairs on the back of his neck prickle with someone's presence. He can't look; he won't.

 

 _"I hope you have your will in order, Gavin!"_ Sixty shrieks, delighted, laughing maniacally.

 

Icy fingers tug the phone from Gavin's fingers, and he stops breathing. He won't look. He won't look. He won't... Terrified, he glances over his shoulder.

 

Niles sets his phone casually on the edge of the desk and steps toward him, looking for all the world like this is an everyday event.

 

Gavin opens his mouth to scream, too horrified to care how it'll sound, but suddenly Niles has him shoved roughly against the wall, one hand over his mouth, the other wrapped tightly around his throat, body pressed against his with disturbing solidity.

 

"Shhh!" the dead man hisses in his face, crystal blue eyes glowing silvery inches from Gavin's own wide stare. A slow, pleased smile curls across his face as his hand loosens around Gavin's neck, his thumb coming up to trace the seam of his fingers against Gavin's cheek. "No screaming, precious... No one else; no neighbours, no friends, no cats... Just you, and me."

 

~~~~

 

A Livestream begins on DabinWeed's YouTube channel on October 31st, 2020, at precisely 12:00 pm. It opens with a view of his office, a familiar sight for those who have seen enough of his face-cammed Let's Plays. The room is empty, his gaming chair missing with a normal chair from the dining room in its place; anyone who's been keeping up with his videos lately knows his gaming chair was randomly stolen recently and he has no idea why, or why the thief or thieves didn't take his computer with it.

 

Curious subscribers pop in, wondering why Dabin decided to do a Livestream without explaining anything beforehand. Comments pour in as everyone asks why the description is just a bunch of garbled text, or demands to see "Nine," his darksona.

 

Thirty minutes later, nothing has happened. Some latecomers show up, curious, while others have already left. Markus pops in for a moment, but leaves as soon as the other viewers start swamping him with adoring comments and pleas for attention. North Star and Simon lurk for a while, but lose interest as another twenty minutes pass of inactivity. Josh Creacher comes and goes randomly over the course of the next five and a half hours.

 

At exactly 6:07 pm, sundown, TheD0gK1ng appears in the all but abandoned chat.

 

 **TheD0gK1ng** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:07 pm) - Ding Dong, the witch is dead!

 

 **savourtoothcat** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:07 pm) - hey its Connor!

 

 **savourtoothcat** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:07 pm) - are you with Dabin? is this when Nine is gonna be revealed??

 

 **JuxtaPoses65** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:09 pm) - holy shit, dogking is here?? time to see nine!!

 

 **JuxtaPoses65** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:09 pm) - dabin helped with sixty right?? does that mean dabin and dogking make 69?? XDDD

 

 **savourtoothcat** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:10 pm) - yeah right... Connor is the one acting both of them; thatd be the ultimate narcissism if they were a thing

 

 **TheD0gK1ng** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:15 pm) - double toil and double trouble, witches brewing cauldron bubble

 

 **DabinGirlN1** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:16 pm) - Is that supposed to be a clue??? Are we supposed to figure out what happened to Dabin???

 

 **JuxtaPoses65** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:18 pm) - wiat guys

 

 **JuxtaPoses65** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:18 pm) - dogking has sixty right??

 

 **JuxtaPoses65** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:18 pm) - what if this is sixty, not dogking???

 

 **xXSuperGamerGrilXx** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:21 pm) - fucking hell this is still going?

 

 **xXSuperGamerGrilXx** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:22pm) - HOLY FUCKING HELL WHAT DID I MISS???

 

 **savourtoothcat** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:23 pm) - nm we're just trying to figure out Connor's cryptic messages

 

 **DabinGirlN1** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:24 pm) - I'm telling you guys, it's a riddle

 

 **DabinGirlN1** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:24 pm) - We have to figure it out if we want to see Dabin ir Nine

 

 **xXSuperGamerGrilXx** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:26 pm) - okay then genius what does it mean??

 

 **TheD0gK1ng** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:30 pm) - *BUZZER* Sorry everybody, time's up!

 

 **TheD0gK1ng** (Oct. 31, 2020 6:30 pm) - Gavin is never coming back! And neither is Connor!!

 

After that, the chat goes crazy for a few minutes until the Livestream ends, and then the comments section of the newly posted video goes wild, particularly because of the description, which reads:

 

_Hello. My name is Niles Rambeaux. Just under 20 years ago, I committed suicide, but I gained a new, improved 'life' through haunting Gavin Reed. He is now mine. My apologies for taking him from you._

 

At the same moment that the video goes up, TheD0gK1ng posts a status update saying:

 

_Greetings, fleshlings! I am Sixty, born of the depravity within the mind of the delightfully sweet Connor Rambeaux-Anderson. My host has finally given over total control to me, and now he is mine!! Don't worry, tasty morsels, I will take exquisite care of him~ Ciao! ;)_

 

Despite an explosion of comments and emails, neither responds that night. Or the next day. Or the next, or the day after that; an entire week goes by without any word from either of the two popular YouTubers.

 

A headline in the news mid-November reads:

 

**POPULAR YOUTUBERS MISSING; RUSE OR REALITY??**

 

The online copy of the article links to the posted Livestream and the status update, and within an hour of publishing, commenters are already linking to a new video that went up on DabinWeed's channel mere minutes after the article's publication.

 

The video is dark, too dark to make out more than the vague form of a man, and far too dark to see where he is.

 

"Don't bother searching for them," the man says, voice low and ethereal. "They belong to us now. Forever."

 

The ten second video goes viral, and within a year, a spooky legend forms around it, ranking right up there with Slenderman and Jeff the Killer. Darksonas become a new creepypasta for kids to scare each other with.

 

Gavin Reed and Connor Anderson are never heard from again.

 

-

**Cole Anderson**

_hey anna_

_i have this rly cool idea_

 

**Anna Fowler**

_sup?_

 

**Cole Anderson**

_link_

_uv heard of darksonas b4 right?_

 

**Anna Fowler**

_omg ur kidding me right?_

_ur not srsly gonna make a darksona ru?_

 

**Cole Anderson**

_y not?_

_i already have a name pkd out_

 

**Anna Fowler**

_u kno this is middle school shit right?_

 

**Cole Anderson**

_come on_

_its not like ghosts r real_

 

**Anna Fowler**

_true..._

_ok whats the name_

 

**Cole Anderson**

_i decided to call him Daniel_

**Author's Note:**

> ~~Sorry for the formatting errors!! I'm trying to fix them as i have time but I've got a busy day ahead of me so it might be a while...~~
> 
>  
> 
> Finally went back and fixed the formatting errors XDD Should read a lot better now~


End file.
